Shadow of Death: The Book of War Continued
by idcabtthisish
Summary: A missing (or rather continued) scene from 1x13. Slight spoilers. This picks up when the Pierce's make it home. In my mind it's a missing piece before the scene where we see Jeff, Jennifer, & Anissa jogging and meeting with Lynn on the porch. Fluff with a wee bit of angst if you squint with one eye. One-shot (but it's long). Appearances by the entire Pierce family.


A/N: Hiiii. My name is IDCabtThisIsh. Most of you probably know me from my Richonne and Hayffie stories. I do not write Richonne anymore but I am still posting Hayffie every now and then. However recently I've gotten into Black Lightning and I AM OBSESSED! I love Jeff and Lynn's relationship, so most of my stories/one shots will be about them.

THIS STORY HAS SPOILERS! So if you haven't seen this season, stop reading now :)

This basically picks up from the time the Pierce's leave the lab with the pods and head home for the night. (Basically the end of 1x13). Hence, the wack ahhh title lol.

* * *

Shadow of Death: The Book of War Continued

Jefferson turned the key in the lock, imagining his bed even before the front door was fully opened. He turned on the light in the living room and Anissa and Jennifer walked passed him, heading upstairs.

Jeff stared at them, wishing he could read their minds. The things they had just witnessed...

He felt a gentle hand on his arm and met the eyes of Lynn.

"I'll check on them." Her voice was soft, and he wondered how she could look so perfect after all they had dealt with tonight. "Why don't you head upstairs and get cleaned up?"

He stared at her for a few more moments before nodding, once, following behind his daughters, all the while wondering how even after all this time Lynn knew him so well. She could still see right through him.

At the top of the stairs Jennifer turned around first. Her adrenaline was crashing, he could tell, as she looked the most tired.

"You okay?" he asked her, concern in his voice.

She scoffed and smirked. "Yes, for the thousandth time," sighed Jennifer. How many times had he asked that since leaving the lab?

Before he could respond she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He pulled her close, breathing her in. "I love you, Daddy," she whispered, just as Lynn made her way upstairs.

He inhaled sharply. "I love you too. And I'm so proud of you." He gently pushed her back so that he could look at her. She gave him a real smile. "You were incredible tonight. And I owe you my life." He glanced at Anissa, who had stopped a few feet away. " _Both_ of you."

"No," said Jennifer, as Anissa shook her head. "We owe you ours. I don't think we have any clue as to how much you've saved us." She hugged him again, this time fleetingly, and it took everything in him not to grab her and hold on to her. Instead he let her go, staring at her closed door for a few moments, before finally turning to Anissa.

Without saying a word she walked up to him and hugged him, longer than Jennifer had. He met Lynn's eyes, who smiled softly at him.

"Anissa," he whispered, cupping her cheek.

"Don't even thank me," smirked Anissa.

"I haven't decided if I'm surprised or not that you've adapted so quickly. On one hand you've been this way pretty much since birth. On the other hand... if you had reacted a little more like Jennifer, I would have understood. Instead you just went in... head first. You were ready and willing to do whatever you had to tonight." He stared at her. "I'm proud of you."

She gave him a closed lip smile. "You shouldn't be surprised. I come from _you_." She reached up and gently kissed his cheek.

She turned to head to her room when he gently grabbed her hand. She stared at him. "Watch your sister for me. Make sure she really _is_ okay... I don't even know if it's fair of me to ask-"

"Of course it is. And of course I will." Jeff nodded. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Night, Anissa." Jeff watched as Lynn made her way to Anissa's room. She laid another reassuring hand on his arm, and then walked into Anissa's room, closing the door behind her.

Jeff took a deep breath and then made his way to his own bedroom. It seemed like with every step he took his body was getting weaker. All he could think about was a shower, which seemed like a blessing as he was sure the _other_ thoughts would come sooner rather than later.

The second he entered his room he started undoing his tie. He flinched at a sharp pain in his back – maybe from when Tobias forced him against the lockers. He tried not to think too hard about it. They had had a few small victories tonight. That would have to be enough.

For now.

He made his way to the bathroom, turning the water on as hot as it could go. He undressed and then stepped inside, appreciating the water as it hit his sore joints. He took several deep breaths, leaning against the cool tile of the shower. Careful not to lose it, Jeff emptied his mind, washed himself off, and finally made his way out of the shower. Grabbing his towel he dried off, the mirror too fogged for him to really take a look at himself.

He was alive. That was good enough.

Grabbing his dirty clothes he made his way to the closet, dumping the clothes, and then made his way to his dresser. He grabbed a pair of grey sweats and slipped them on, and was just grabbing a tee shirt when his bedroom door opened.

Lynn slipped inside, gently closing the door behind her.

He froze for a moment, flashes of the other night running through his mind: her, biting his neck, fingers scratching his back, legs wrapped tightly around him.

"I think the girls are fine," she said softly, breaking his train of thoughts. He snapped out of it and pulled his shirt over his head. "They're stronger than we think."

"And you?" he asked, eyeing her.

"I'm fine," responded Lynn. He walked towards her, his eyes roaming over her. He reached out, lifting her head and searching her for bruises. Without saying a word he removed her lab coat, her arms out in front of him, inspecting every inch. "Jeff, I am _fine_."

"You killed a man tonight, Lynn," Jeff told her, a little more harshly than he had intended. She stiffened. "And Gambi killed a man in front of all of you. None of those things have hit any of you yet, so you may be _fine_ tonight, but you won't be for long. And neither will Jennifer or Anissa." He looked at her, his eyes boring into hers. "You never forget your first kill." His voice softened slightly. "Or the first death you're inadvertently a part of."

His father's face flashed briefly into his mind and he turned away from Lynn, walking towards the bed.

"I killed a man protecting my family," she whispered. "And I'd do it a million times again. And Gambi didn't kill a man he killed a monster. There are differences." She walked up to Jeff, who still wasn't looking at her. She reached out and touched him. "In my mind, Black Lightning is no different than a police officer, laying his life on the line. There are going to be casualties."

Jeff took a deep breath but still wouldn't meet her eye. "You should get cleaned up."

Lynn recognized the dismissal and nodded, once, and then made her way to the bathroom.

….

When Lynn exited the bathroom the bedroom was empty. She made her way to Jeff's drawers and grabbed one of his shirts, sniffing it as she put it over her head. It smelled like him. She smiled softly and made her way out of the bedroom, unsurprised to see Jennifer's door open.

She made her way to the room to find Jeff just standing there, watching Jennifer. She would be the one Jeff worried about the most, Lynn mused. She was the youngest, the least experienced, and had no control over her powers yet.

Powers she wasn't even sure she wanted.

"Jeff," whispered Lynn, and he jumped, his eyes immediately flashing electric. Lynn gasped and backed up, but before she could even warn that it was just her, he was back to normal.

"Jesus, Lynn," he whispered. He glanced at Jennifer, who hadn't even flinched, and then turned back to Lynn. Together they exited Jennifer's room. "I didn't even hear you."

"I didn't mean to frighten you," apologized Lynn.

"I know." They made their way to his room where Lynn closed the door behind her.

"You need to rest," Lynn told him. "Your body's been through a lot. I still want to get you in my lab tomorrow to run some more tests, make sure you're _really_ okay. And we need to make sure that Jennifer actually restored your powers, and that it wasn't temporary."

"I'll wind down if you wind down," stated Jeff. Lynn looked at him. "Your mind's running a million miles a minute, Lynn. I can't tell if you're this wired from adrenaline or if you won't let yourself stop because you'll be mad at me."

"Mad at you? Jeff what are you talking about?"

He sighed. "I don't want to fight, Lynn."

"Neither do I," she said, staring at him.

He looked at her for a few moments and then nodded. "Okay. I'll take the couch and I'll see you in the morning."

She blinked at him, confused. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't you take the bed?"

Now it was his turn to look confused. "Well I wouldn't make you sleep on the couch."

"I don't understand, Jeff. I thought I made it clear where I stood the other night." Again, flashes of her breathing hard and moaning his name entered his brain.

Jeff looked at Lynn, his face blank.

"Did you think I'd... changed my mind?"

"I'd hoped not," Jeff told her honestly. "But..."

" _But_?"

"But I wasn't sure how you'd feel after tonight. You guys were almost killed, Lynn. Every fear that you ever had about me being Black Lightning came true tonight. I _died_. My last thoughts were of that night Jennifer saw me injured, of you saying you wanted a divorce because you couldn't do _this_ anymore..." He looked at her. "You need to take a hard look inside about what went down tonight, because I can't..." His voice trailed.

"You can't what?"

He stared at her for a few moments, his eyes searching hers. "I can't do the back and forth, Lynn. I can't have your support one day and then the next day you decide it's too much. I need my head in the game, I can't afford to have our troubles in the back of my mind too. I'm not saying that you never get to change your mind, I'm not holding you hostage, but before you commit to me I need you to make _sure_ this is what you want."

Lynn swallowed and looked down. "Okay. I deserve that."

"This isn't about what you deserve. Believe me, I understand why you walked away." He walked up to her, placing his hands on her hips. "If tonight showed me anything, it was why you left. When I didn't have my powers... when I realized the danger I had put you all in-"

"There was no way to foresee that you would lose your powers," interrupted Lynn. "There was no way to foresee any of this."

"You did," Jeff disagreed. "You asked me once what I would do if someone targeted you guys to get to me, and-"

"And tonight proved the lengths that you would go to keep up safe." She cupped his cheek. "You have proven the man, father, husband, and superhero you are. Now let me prove that I can support it." She caressed his lip with her thumb. "I'm not going anywhere." She leaned up and kissed him. "Not this time," she told him quietly against his lips. "Not ever again." She kissed him again, harder, and he pulled her closer, his tongue slipping in her mouth. She moaned softly, her body melting into his. She pulled away after several moments. "I thought I lost you today," she whispered.

"No," responded Jeff. "I'm right here."

The kiss he gave her quickly escalated, and then Lynn's mind was going blank.

….

Anissa sighed as she grabbed the next set of books, placing them into the box next to her. She glanced at her parents, who were in the corner whispering to each other like high schoolers, and then glanced at Jennifer, who was watching them with a smile on her face.

She'd had that same look on her face since their parents announced that they were getting back together at the breakfast table this morning, and that their mother would need help moving a few things from her place.

Having her mother move back in with her dad seemed like a good idea at first, until it was time to start packing. And the funny thing was the fact that this was just one trip; they were only grabbing a few necessities that her mother needed for the rest of the week. She'd agreed that she'd hire movers in a couple of weeks when things settle down.

"I'm running to the restroom," Jennifer said. "I'll be right back." Anissa watched as Jennifer practically skipped out of the room.

She let out another sigh.

"You okay over there?" asked her mother. Anissa glanced at her mom: strong, beautiful, powerful. The realest woman she knew. She could feel her mother's stare, and see the concern in her mother's eyes. "Anissa? What is it?"

She sighed again and glanced towards the bathroom door, making sure Jennifer was still in there. "Look, don't get me wrong: I'm stupid excited that you're moving back home. But how do I know you won't bail on Dad again when times get rough?"

Anissa watched as her mother blinked, clearly hurt. "What?"

"Now hold on," her father said, shifting forward slightly. "Your mother didn't leave when things got hard-"

"Yes she did," interrupted Anissa. "She said so. She said you guys got divorced because you were Black Lightning."

"It's a little more complicated than that," her father argued.

"Is it? If things get rough are you going to decide to stop being our mother?"

"Anissa." It was her father's quiet warning that made her realize she had gone too far. She looked at her mother and saw the pain on her mother's face.

She sighed again. "Okay, I didn't mean that how it sounded."

"Then how did you mean it?" asked Lynn, still not raising her voice.

She glanced towards the hallway to make sure Jennifer wasn't coming back yet. "Look, I'm grown, okay? I'm an adult. If things don't work out the second time around, I'm good. But what about Jennifer? She's sixteen. That's still young enough where she's naive enough to believe in fairytales and happily ever afters. She's playing the cool teenager when you two are around but behind closed doors? She's practically bouncing off the walls. If things don't work out, she's the one that's going to be devastated. And I'm not saying that you two have to stay together for her. I'm just saying if it was too much then, what's different this time around?"

Anissa watched as her mother squared her shoulders, her eyes narrowing slightly. " _I_ am," she responded coldly, and then she was stalking passed her.

"Lynn," called her father. " _Lynn_." She continued to ignore him and left the living room. Her father glared at her. "You were way out of line."

Anissa was about to respond when Jennifer came back in. "Hey. Where'd mom go?"

Her father looked at her and Anissa forced a smile. "Probably to rest her feet. Who wears heels to _pack_?"

Jennifer snorted. "Mom."

Anissa forced a laugh.

….

Lynn continued to study Jennifer's data, attempting to piece together the information. She stared at Jeffrey's charts and marveled at how different they were. She kept replaying the way Jennifer was able to not only revive her father's powers, but fully restore them.

It was fascinating.

And it was also confusing, because Jeffrey hadn't inherited them. She could not for the life of her figure out how their children had developed powers.

"Knock, knock."

Distracted Lynn looked up to meet the eyes of her daughter. "Anissa," she said, looking her over. "Is everything okay? Are you feeling all right?"

"What? Oh yah," responded Anissa. "I mean I'm still sore, but... I think that's to be expected." She shrugged and stepped into her mother's lab.

"If you're feeling okay, can we talk later? I'm busy."

She was being cold, Lynn noted about herself, and she cringed inside.

Anissa sighed. "You're still mad at me."

"Mad?" Lynn asked quietly, shaking her head. "No, I'm not mad. My feelings are hurt."

"Well that's why I'm here. I came to understand, instead of judge." Lynn just stared at her daughter, and then she turned and walked towards the back of her lab, her folder in her hand. "Tell me what happened. Tell me why you would walk away from Dad when he probably needed you the most."

"That sounded a lot like judgement." Lynn glanced at Jennifer's scans again.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I really do want to understand, though."

Lynn sighed and closed the files, realizing Anissa wasn't going to let this go. "It's complicated," started Lynn.

"Mom. I'm not a child. On top of that, I just freakin' found out I had superpowers and my dad is Black Lightning. I think I can handle complicated."

Reluctantly Lynn smiled. "Okay, touche." She walked towards Anissa. "First thing first, I love your father very much. I've loved him more than half my life. And making the decision to divorce him was the hardest one I've ever made. Not a day went by that I did not think about that decision, or the consequences of that decision."

"Did you regret it?"

"Yes. Some days more than others."

"So what happened? I know _something_ had to happen. Because you didn't raise us to quit. So something had to have happened. And I should have remembered that before opening my mouth earlier today."

Lynn paused for a few moments. "It really is complicated," sighed Lynn. "Because I love your father very much. It killed me to file for divorce. But one night he had come home..." Lynn sighed again, briefly closing her eyes. "He was so close to death. And since you have powers you will _never_ understand what it's like on the other side; how hard it is to watch somebody you love give so much of themselves day in and day out.

"Your father had gotten hurt. He came home not just bruised but bloody, and... Anissa I have never seen your father that bad. He'd come home hurt before but this... this was different, and... I was so scared for him. All the worrying had taken its toll on me.

To make matters worse... your sister saw him. I don't even know why she was awake. You know Jen... Never where she's supposed to be." Lynn cracked a small smile.

"Anyway, she panicked, and that's when I made the decision to leave. Because I couldn't handle _that_. I didn't know how to explain to Jennifer what was happening to her father, and I didn't like being put in a position of having to lie to you two... It was the last straw. I can't even begin to explain the countless nights I spent worrying about your father." Lynn paused for a few moments. "It's not like that part has ever changed. And it's even worse now that you and Jen have powers. But you two are older. I couldn't stop _you_ even if I wanted to, and your father... your father can't help who he is. And I can't help that I love him."

Anissa walked up to her, grabbing her mother's hand. "I'm sorry, about earlier."

"I love your father, and I love you girls. And I don't plan on going anywhere. I can help. I _will_ help. And I'll do so right by you all's side."

Anissa smiled. "Good. There's no place I'd rather you be."

Lynn smiled back. "Me either."


End file.
